Did you know that more than 7,000 children of compulsory school-going age are currently attending community-based special care centres, where support is primarily provided by caregivers and where structured teaching and formal learning programmes remain limited? Many of these children are learners with intellectual disabilities who require increased educational support and opportunities to fully realise their potential and participate meaningfully in society. South Africa’s constitutional and legislative framework affirms every child’s right to basic education and underscores the importance of ensuring that all learners are progressively supported within the education system. It is within this context that the Director-General established a multidisciplinary National Task Team (NTT) on the Placement of Out-of-School Children with Disabilities in 2023. Since its establishment, the NTT has been working diligently to accelerate the placement of children from community-based special care centres into public schools, while strengthening collaboration across sectors to improve access, support, and inclusion for learners with disabilities.

The NTT, led by Mr Jabulani Ngcobo, Director for Inclusive Education at the DBE, undertook yet another provincial monitoring and support programme with the newly constituted Mpumalanga Department of Education Provincial Task Team (PTT) from 20 to 21 May 2026 at Badplaas in the Mpumalanga Province. The meeting was preceded by a briefing session with the Head of Department, Ms Lucy Moyane, during which Mr Ngcobo, supported by Mr Livhuwani Mahada from the Office of the Director-General, shared the province’s progress in implementing Circular S28 of 2023, and suggested key areas for strategic support and concurrence by the Head of Department. Agreeing that inclusion requires a whole-system, intersectoral response, Ms Moyane committed her support to the placement process, saying: “An integrated approach is critical in ensuring that this matter is addressed effectively and promptly. I would love to have this presentation shared in our provincial social cluster platform, and with senior managers at my department, as their buy-in would strengthen the circular’s implementation”.

During the session with the PTT, it became clear that officials understood the principles of inclusive education differently. Registering his concern, Mr Mahada wondered where the disjuncture was and the possible implications thereof. “It is for this very reason that we have these meetings; through mediating the various policies and clearing the ambiguities in White Paper 6, we are making sure that we are aligned in our interpretation and understanding of the policy, and that every official bases their decisions and plans on one unified message,” responded Mr Ngcobo.

Getting buy-in from school principals to admit children with disabilities into public ordinary schools took some convincing. In a hybrid engagement with over 300 principals and circuit officials hosted at Tsatsimfundvo Primary School in Elukwatini, Ms Christinah Banyini, Chief Education Specialist for Inclusive Education at the DBE, directed an interactive session titled: “How well do I understand inclusive education?” Having tabled various concerns around the “system” not being ready, with support resources and teacher unpreparedness top of the list, the attendees had to acquiesce after being taken through the obligations placed upon them as officials. “Inclusive education is a system responsibility. We are the system! The law places a duty on the education system to create access, not barriers. Education White Paper 6 does not ask whether inclusion is desirable. It assumes inclusion, and asks whether our policies, budgets, systems, and decisions are aligned with that assumption,” urged Mr Ngcobo.

In closing, Mr Ngcobo shared that schools will not be left to their own devices once they have admitted children with disabilities. “As school principals, yours is to lead whole-school transformation, whilst ours as officials is to enable systemic support. Resources have been made available to support the children who will be placed in your schools and require high levels of support. However, as HoD, Ms Moyane confirmed, placement should precede assessment. You can only know the type of support each child will need only after you have admitted them,” concluded Mr Ngcobo.